How To Get To Heaven

Luke 14:23 Matt 25. There Jesus is describing the great Day of Judgment. The final judgment And in that description -- he represents the entire judgment turning on one single point. The nations are standing before Him. He is separating the people. Sheep on the right, Goats on the left. One question, one point, that is it: Yep, she passes, she can come to heaven. Stand over here please on my right side. You are a sheep, yours is eternal life.

Nope sir, you did not, I'm so sorry, but you need to stand over here to the left with the goats. No second question, no extra credit points? One question, that is it. Just one point. Sheep and goats, right and left, saved and lost. Can you imagine? One point! Everything done in your life boils down to just one point at the judgment, one point.

Ellen White describes the scene this way: When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another. How does he do it? Thus Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured to His disciples the scene of the great judgment day. And He represented its decision as turning upon one point. When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and the suffering. Desire of Ages Chapter 70 page 637. Every person's eternal destiny turning on one point?! And I bet you have no idea what it is!? Do you think you know what it is? Whether they knew the state of the dead? Nope. Whether they kept the Sabbath? Nope. Whether they were vegetarian?Nope. Whether they were obedient? Nope. Whether they said the sinner's prayer and asked him into their life? Nope. Whether they were baptized? Nope. How much they studied their Bible? How much they gave in offering? What they wore? If they understood the mark of the beast? That they believe in righteousness by faith? Did they attend the right church? Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, and Nope! None of the above. How could she even think to say something like that? The whole judgment turning on one point! Her words really aren't her words, and they certainly aren't my words, they come right out of Matt 25. In fact if you had a red letter Bible, you would find these words in red, because they are Jesus' words. She is quoting Matthew and Matthew is quoting Jesus.31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

How does he do it? When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and the suffering. {DA 637.1} That is it, your eternal destiny decide on that one thing. Check it out for yourself. She isn't making this up, she is basically quoting Jesus. Matt 25:34-40.34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.40 The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' You took care of my children, Those in need, Those who were hungry and thirsty.

You are in! One question, determines it all, what have you done for the least of these? Those on the left, the lost. Same question, opposite answer. Matt 25:41-43, 45 Same question, point of judgment. What did you do or not do for the least of these? It is interesting the righteous can't even figure out what Jesus is talking about. They will respond:37 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'Lord, I think you might have someone else's file. Lord, I never saw you naked. Oh, I never saw you hungry either. Or thirsty. Or in prison.

Have you ever been at the store and for some reason the clerk makes a mistake? She types in the wrong code. And instead of charging you $10 for the organic grapes, it comes out $2 because the non-organic ones are on sale. And instead of charging you $5 for 28 pack of Ozarka water, it rings up $4 because she typed in the code for the store brand by mistake? No biggie, except you are already sitting in the car when you notice it. Now what are you going to do? It is going to cost you around 10 minutes of your time to give the store back the dollar they didn't charge you. And you are thinking, is it really worth 10 minutes to save the store a measly $1? You really don't want to, and you are already late because the clerk was so slow. But you just have to go back in, because it is the right thing to do. Right? :-) I hope so. Religious people are like that aren't they. They just have to make sure everyone is treated fairly. :-) Check out the righteous here on the day of judgment. Jesus tells them "sir, you are in." Eternal life for you, because when I was hungry and thirsty you fed me. When I was naked you cloth me. And the righteous say, I think you made a mistake. That must not be our file. We never saw you hungry or thirsty, or NAKED!

37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

You think it is hard to give up 10 minutes of your time, just to give Kroger a $1 back? The righteous respond I'm not so sure that I'm suppose to have this mansion. Maybe the files are mixed up. I don't remember doing any of that. Jesus says, hmmm, let me check. He looks at the records again, nope, no mistake. Oh wait a minute, here is why you are confused. It wasn't actually me, but it was me.40 I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'Surprisingly, the ones sent to the left have the same exact response as the ones on the right.

And the wicked say, I think you made a mistake. That must not be my file. I never saw you hungry or thirsty, or NAKED! And they get almost, word for word, the same answer.

45 He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.46 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. The whole judgment rests on this one point. What did you do for the least of these? You say doesn't it rest on commandment keeping; nope.We see that in a story yet coming up in Luke, the story of the Rich Young Ruler. Luke 18:18, 20 I've been doing them, do I have eternal life? Am I set? Luke 18:21 Jesus answers. Okay, you want the whole test? Actually, I can give to you in one single point the one question final exam right here right now. Luke 18:22 Whatever you do the least of these. That is it. One question, what did you do for the least of these? No other question is sufficient. Sabbath keeping? Nope, the Jews that arranged Jesus crucifixion kept the Sabbath, that isn't a sufficient test question. Do you believe in Jesus? Nope, the devils believe and they are lost. Study your Bible enough, nope, not enough, the experts of the law knew their Bible inside and out and were lost. Pay tithe? Nope, not enough. Of course, you should pay tithe. But it is not the test.

Luke 11:42 Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs,but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.You should pay tithe, but that isn't enough. You neglect justice and the love of God. Wait isn't that a different question? Loving God? What does loving God have to do, with caring for the least of these? Of thats right, whatever you do for them you do for me. Want to show God love, show love to those in need. It is easy for us to say we love God. But the test is do you love man.But quoting from 641 of DA "Love to man is the earthward manifestation of love of God." Get it, no love for man equals no love for God. Yet love for man isn't sufficient cause we often do that for our own reasons. And love for the least of these = love for God. It is that simple. One point, the whole judgment rest on the question, do you love your brother? From the same paragraph in the Desire of Ages When we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts. {DA 641.3}

In this context many of Jesus' words make more sense. John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Life changing point, what have you done for the least of these? Jesus gave you the whole final exam. It has just one question on it and you have it.Want to stand on judgment day one question. What did you to for the least of these? All the rest of it is good, terrific, even great, but all that comes down to one question.What was it Ellen White said? When we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven.

Every 2 Years we enter ministry placement time. It is an important time, because it is during this time God calls leaders to lead the various ministries of the church for the next 2 years. But, I wonder if perhaps something more important is taking place? Could it be, we will all be taking the pre-test for that great final exam. It is a little scary because in the past, the departments hardest to fill have always been those focused on the children's departments. That is scary, because the final exam question is: What did you do for the least of these?

Conclusion: Yet, the message today is really much deeper than Church leader placement, It is a call to rethink our entire value system both as individuals and as a church.

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus shares a parable about a great banquet. A banquet to which a very wealthy man has invited many guests. He has invited everyone who is anyone. Please come to my incredible party, where only the best of everything will be served. I imagine that as the invitations go out, the whole country-side is filled with great excitement. Did you get an invitation? Did you hear who else is coming? I heard that he is having the food imported from across the whole world. Everyone is reserving a spot no need to ask for RSVPs. But, as time begins to go by, people get busy. Soon the conversation has moved on to other social events. People are getting married. Business is rolling. And by the time the day of the party arrives, well,the great host has everything ready, and just to make sure no one forgets he sends out his servants to remind everyone that today is the day. But at house after house, family after family, the excuses begin coming in. His servants have a simple job, invite people to the greatest party of their life time. But, no one is coming. And everything is prepared. I can't help think about what is taking place in Christianity right now. Across America, less and less people are attending church, even as churches keep getting bigger and bigger. When the Adventist movement began, it swept acrossthe US. People meeting in one room church buildings, heated by a wood stove. Anxious to gather to worship Jesus. Now the book growth rate of Christianity in America is less than the population growth rate, and the attendance is falling even faster.But in spite of that, the Adventist church is now baptizing more than 3000 a day around the world.(Every day is Pentecost) with less than 5% of the Adventist members living in the US,the place where the movement started. I can't help but think of the rest of Jesus parable, and Jesus said, Luke 14:21 The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled,the blind and the lame.Could this be what is happening right now, our churches have empty seats, and we can't build churches fast enough in the poorest parts of the world. People are standing outside the windows to hear the messages and be part of the worship service? I wonder if it is Jesus way to say to us like the master to his servants Luke 14:23 Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.

As we conclude. I would like to challenge each of you here to reflect on this command. We tend to focus on those that have it all. And wish they would come. But that question isn't on the final exam. The final exam, turns on a different point. When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shallseparate them one from another. Thus Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured to His disciples the scene of the great judgment day. And He represented its decision as turning upon one point. When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to dofor Him in the person of the poor and the suffering. What have you done for the least of these?

I remember reading about Dwight L Moody. He was working as a shoe salesman, in a time, when to go to church, you had to rent a pew. Churches weren't interested in those who had nothing to give to the church.Yet in the midst of that attitude, he began to save his money,and he rented a pew for the poor youth to use as he began to reach out to his community. Then he rented another, and another, and still another. Every week, Dwight would pack four pews full of young people neglected by other churches. His own church made him pay to bring those young people to church. Yet he didn't leave, he paid it out of his pocket. What have you done for the least of these?

There has yet to be a week when we didn't have at least one empty seat. And it is free, what have you done for the least of these? Ask God today, that he would put a burning love in your heartfor the people he is calling to that great banquet. Those in the most need those who will accept the invitation.

Luke 14:1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee,..Luke 14:12 Jesus said to his host, When you give a (Sabbath) luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when yougive a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. If you do this, you will get to meet Jesus!